


A Thousand Galaxies

by justhappytobehere1



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Coruscant (Star Wars), F/M, Fluff and Smut, Force Dyad (Star Wars), Jedi, Jedi Rey (Star Wars), Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Porn With Plot, Resistance Member Ben Solo, Undercover, adding tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26154265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justhappytobehere1/pseuds/justhappytobehere1
Summary: While working for the Resistance under Leia Organa, Ben Solo volunteers to go undercover with a vicious gang. Back at base, Rey wrestles with her feelings for him, worried he'll forget his light side identity completely. Then Leia sends her to retrieve Ben...
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa & Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Luke Skywalker, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilyylazuli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilyylazuli/gifts).



> Thanks to lilyylazuli, I literally could not and would not have done this without you.

None of them were particularly pleased with the plan. 

Around the center console overlaid with holograms in Aurebesh, Poe presented the issue to the Resistance. Holograms of giant ships and bombs with the capacity to destroy entire cities in one go floated by, glinting off grim faces. 

“If the First Order gets their hands on all of this, millions more are going to die,” Poe said, fists clenched by his side. “The sheer power and number of the arms they will procure in this deal are unprecedented, far more than anything they’ve had before. Thousands of portable death stars, easily transportable on even a small ship.”

Across from him, Rey sighed and squeezed her hands together. Always more death, more suffering. Next to her, Ben patted her shoulder, a zing through their Force connection,  _ hope, Rey.  _ She nodded.

On the bench, Han’s tanned face quirked into a smile. “We’ve already taken out two death stars, what’s a few thousand?” 

“Han,” Leia scowled. Ben rolled his eyes at his father, his boyish embarrassment at his parents trickling into Rey’s mind. 

“Sorry, princess. I’ll let the kids have their turn,” he grinned, tucking Leia under his arm as she rolled her eyes.

Poe bit back a grin. “Anyway, as I was saying before the flyboy interrupted me-”  
“Hey-”

“As I was  _ saying, _ ” he continued, ignoring Han’s indignant huff and Leia’s chuckle, “we need to figure out a way to intercept this arms deal, and quick. The ones supplying the arms are the Crimson Night.”

  
“They’re a really vicious gang based on Coruscant. Hux has never done a deal with them before, so it seems like it’s taking a really long time. Negotiations are still going on, but the arms are supposed to be delivered to the Order about two months from now. We don’t know where they store them, but if we intervene now, I think we could stop the deal,” Finn added. 

The weathered white walls still danced with the light from the hologram, and Rey watched it reflect around the room instead of thinking of planets destroyed by bombs and dirty money.  _ There is no emotion, there is peace- _

“Are you proposing we send an informant?” Leia rested her head in her hand, tired and thoughtful.

Poe glanced at Finn briefly and nodded. “Yes, General. I think it’s the best way to get what we need. The Crimson Night is very secretive, but if we send someone now, they can earn their trust before the deal goes through.”

“I see,” The General looked around the room, taking in the earnest faces of her fighters. Rey met her eyes, calmed by her presence. Leia’s confidence often felt more comforting, more powerful than the Force itself. “Okay. We send someone in now. Someone quiet, who can fit in with a gang.”

Rey felt Ben shift beside her, hyper aware of his presence as always, too aware. “I think I should do it,” he whispered to her, in his usual vaguely gloomy manner.

“What?” Rey felt a pang of panic for a reason she couldn’t quite understand. “Why? Master Skywalker wouldn’t let you embed yourself with a gang for two months, Ben, and Leia would never-”

  
“Rey. I’m the only one here who can keep quiet long enough to avoid spilling secrets, and I can look mean when I want to.” He could. She had seen it in his eyes, before, when they sparred for practice. It didn’t frighten her, but she wondered if seeing the red glints in Ben’s eyes would scare someone who knew him a bit less.

Suddenly she was seized with panic at the idea of him in danger. He had gone on plenty of missions before, but never for so long, not since they had started training together, not since she had begun to feel that dark well in her soul whenever he was too far away.

But before she could argue Leia had locked eyes with her son, and Rey silently cursed whatever special mother-son bond the Force granted the two of them.

“Ben. You want to go?” Leia said.

He nodded, his dark hair concealing the side of his face from Rey. She couldn’t read his expression. He was blocking her out from his emotions, but she had enough frustration of her own to tide her over. 

“Not a bad idea. He’s got the Jedi mind trick shit, not to mention he’s tall and can be scary if he feels like it. Not to me, but, you know. In general.” Poe nodded approvingly at Ben, his brown curls bouncing. 

A few of the other fighters chimed in, commending Ben for volunteering, agreeing to his logic. Even Han nodded at his son. Leia raised a hand for silence.

“As your mother, sending you into the arms of a gang for two months is terrifying, no matter how powerful a Jedi you are. But as your General, I agree. I think you are the best fit for this mission.”

Rey knew she was right, that they all were, but she couldn’t get rid of the unnatural panic filling up her chest. Peace, not emotion, peace, not emotion. 

She felt Ben’s hand come to rest on her forearm, briefly, an apology for leaving her. She quickly placed her hand over his own, trying to draw on their ever present connection. It was different from the way the Force connected her to other people. Stronger. Magnetic, almost torturous in its constant pull, leaving ripples and pangs in its place when they weren’t near one another. She felt his resolve, and something stronger, something she couldn’t identify, before he tucked it away again. 

“We’ll send Ben as soon as possible. He should have no contact with us; it would be too dangerous. This gang knows what they’re doing. Besides, the big guy can handle himself.” Ben smirked at Poe’s gentle ribbing. As much as the two were at each other’s throats, there was a begrudging respect there, Rey knew. 

Leia nodded. “We’ll send in someone two weeks before the deal finalizes to transmit all the information we need. I’ll think that one over, and we can discuss it later.” 

After finalizing details and a plan, during which they decided that Ben’s alias would be Kylo Ren (it sounded like a Dark Sider’s name, Rey thought angrily), Leia concluded the meeting. As everyone stood to leave, she placed her hand on her son’s shoulder and he stood to speak with her. Rey, not wanting to intrude, smiled at the General and slipped out on Finn’s heels. 

\---------------

Rey knocked on the door of Ben’s room. It wasn’t far from hers on the base; just the next hallway over, closer to Han and Leia’s. The Solos wanted to be close together, as much as Ben huffed and puffed over being given his independence. No more lost Skywalkers.

After the meeting, Rey had gone to speak with Luke in their makeshift temple. It was warm beige, with a view of soft fields, where the rest of the base was sterile white; younglings ran about, happily tumbling on soft mats. It was the most serene place on the planet, or in the galaxy, as far as she was concerned. Where she had felt fear, Luke was confident; he believed in Ben.

“It’s not that I don’t believe in him, Master, but I’m worried,” Rey had sighed, frustrated that no one seemed to share her unease.

“He’s going to take on a secret identity, and it’s just two months. We’re Jedi, Rey. We go where we’re needed to bring back the light,” Luke said, with his signature gentle smile.

“I think that’s what scares me the most. The secret identity. What if he loses touch with who he really is?” Rey tried not to meet Luke’s eyes, tried to hide the surprising depth of her fear.

“Rey.” Luke settled next to her as she watched the sun set outside the window. “Search your feelings. Understand what you’re really afraid of.”

She didn’t want to think about what she really feared. She didn’t  _ know  _ what she really feared. She knew she didn’t want to lose Ben, above all. He was a good training partner, a good ally, a good match when they sparred. He had been her closest confidant and companion since Luke had ended her Padawan training and told her to learn further with Ben. Her closest companion  _ ever,  _ actually; she hadn’t had anyone on Jakku. She knew the Force linked them together in a way neither of them fully understood; but they were some of the last Jedi. What else was there?

Luke looked somewhat bemused, sensing her thoughts. “What else, indeed. I know he struggles with the dark, but I did once, too. Trust him, Rey. I do.”

She had nodded, tried to quiet her mind. 

\---------------

Now, hours later, she stood at his door in the middle of the night and waited for him to answer it. She rarely, if ever, came to his quarters, but it felt like an appropriate time. Rey needed to tell him something, although she didn’t know exactly what.

The door opened to his dark blue room, and there he was, his black hair in a ruffled halo around his freckled face, looking not tired but almost...energized. Behind him his lights were dim, his bed still made. He clearly hadn’t been sleeping, despite the hour.

“Hi,” she tried, unsure what to say. “I wanted to see if you needed help, uh, packing.”

He smiled, that one that showed his teeth, the one she had only seen him give to her and Chewie. “I’m not bringing anything, I’m going to buy it all on Coruscant. But I wanted to see you. Come in.”

So she followed him inside, feeling dwarfed by his height and frame as always. He was in what she teasingly called his “good boy sweater” because of how much Leia liked when he wore it, although she secretly loved it, how it made him look like a gentle giant. He smelled nice, familiar. 

With the door closed behind them, their emotions in the enclosed space overwhelmed her. She didn’t know what to say. “Nice sweater,” was all she could offer.

He rolled his eyes at her. “I went to see my mom before she went to sleep. Wanted to get along with her before I left for two months.”

  
“I’m impressed, Solo. Actually making an effort to get along with someone,” she teased.

  
“Watch it, or I’ll tell Luke to make you a Padawan again.”

  
“Easy way to make sure no one could kick your ass during training. Coward,” she smiled, and pushed him lightly.

Ben scowled. “Did you come here to make fun of me, laserbrain?” 

Rey sighed, and finally looked him squarely in the eye. “No, I— Ben. I’m worried about you.”

He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. “I know, scavenger. I promise I’ll be okay. It’s just two months and I’m not even going by my real name.” His deep brown eyes burned into hers with his usual off putting intensity, but there was levity there, too. 

“I know. I don’t like that. I’d say it doesn’t sound like you, but I’m more worried that…”

He could sense her thoughts, but he didn’t need to. She could feel that he had the same sense, that maybe “Kylo Ren”  _ did--  _

“It does sound like me.” Ben pushed a strand of Rey’s hair behind her ear, and she shivered. “I won’t surrender to it,” he whispered. “Some dark lives inside all of us. It’s not who I am.”

“Ben, I won’t lose you to it. I don’t want you to put yourself in danger like that. You’re- you mean everything, to me,” she said, gripping his forearm.

“I’ll cross a thousand galaxies before I lose you, scavenger.”

Rey stared at him and he stared back, stunned by his own words into silence, neither having ever said anything so nakedly needy. After a moment Ben pulled her into his arms and she stilled momentarily. They had hugged before, of course, in celebration or for comfort. But this time, when she buried her face into his chest, it felt utterly different. She could feel his emotions interwoven with hers and his fear and excitement and her fear and trepidation and there was that something else again, swirling out of both of them.

His arms tightened around her again and he slowly, gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. She clung to his sweater and drank in his scent, allowed herself to be enveloped by him, her partner in the light.

After a while they sat down together on his bed, close enough that she could still rest her head on his shoulder. He tucked that same strand of hair behind her ear, again. Her throat felt watery. Neither of them knew what to say.

“I’ll be back before you know it. I promise,” he said softly.

Rey sighed and tucked something small into his hand. He held it up to the dim light, the little ring with the tiny green stone dwarfed by his hands. 

“It’s a ring I scavenged on Jakku ages ago. I kept it so I could always have something green, even in the desert,” Rey smiled. “I want you to have it. So you can always have your favorite person with you, even across the galaxy.” She nudged him with her shoulder. 

Ben looked suddenly soft, and warmth spread through his face. For a moment she felt his resolve to go waver, and that unidentified something welled up between them again. He grabbed her hand and, so quickly she almost thought she imagined it, brushed his lips against her palm. 

It shocked and delighted Rey, and warmth spread through her. The Force seemed to sing in her veins. Ben just looked at her, with that soft, melancholy look. “Rey...thank you.” 

She clung to him tighter, and there they sat, for hours, watching the sun rise over the base. 

\---------------

That was the night Rey played over and over again in her head before she fell asleep, remembering how he smelled and the rare gentleness of his voice that made her shiver. She wasn’t trying to think of him, but every morning she woke up warm, dreaming of the way his lips felt on her skin. She tried to shake it off, tried to busy herself with real things, tangible things, instead of whatever _that_ train of thought was. Her thoughts had never been so consumed with him before, the emptiness echoing through the Force with him gone.

It had been a month and thirteen days. A month and thirteen days of tugging gently on her end of their Force connection, receiving only the tiniest nudges in response. So far away, on Coruscant, it might as well be another galaxy. A city planet. She had never known one like it, and wasn't sure she wanted to. Ben, the child of diplomats and princesses, must have been comfortable there, maybe even more comfortable than in their base on Takodana. She didn’t know that side of him, knew only Resistance and Jedi prodigy Ben Solo, and she knew that he preferred it that way. She wanted him to be Ben,  _ her  _ Ben, and it startled her to realize she had been thinking of him that way since he had left, maybe even before. 

After a month and thirteen days one of the younglings in the Temple clucked his tongue at her. “Master Rey!” The little Togruta shrieked, as he waved around a practice lightsaber.

Rey was shocked out of her reverie,  _ again _ . “I’m sorry, Jorah. Patience. Show me your blocks again.”

The boy huffed but centered himself and did as he was told.  _ Even the younglings can focus better than I can,  _ Rey mused to herself. It wasn’t like her to neglect students or lose sight of what she was doing. Just two weeks, and Ben would be back. Two weeks where anything could happen.


	2. Trust Him

After dinner, Rey hunted down Leia; she needed guidance from the only mother figure she had ever known. She found her in the little room off the control room that the General used as her office. It was so casual, covered with old texts and a few scattered datapads, that Rey could imagine she was visiting Leia happily, like there was no war at all. 

Leia was sitting at her white desk, her grey hair pulled back into a braided halo. She looked pleased to see Rey, even though she was sweaty, in rumpled clothes from training. Leia never looked worried. The princess, the senator, the general, had nothing to be afraid of anymore. “How are you?”

  
“I’m still worried about him. Now that we’re just two weeks out from the deal, he’s in even more danger than before,” Rey walked forward into the room and automatically clung to Leia’s wrinkled hand. 

Leia squeezed her hand and looked at her knowingly, with that same bemused face Luke had given her one month and thirteen days before. “If it eases your mind at all, we both know Ben is safe. We would have felt it if he weren’t. I’m worried too, trust me. But despite how much like his father he is, he does have good judgement,” Leia rolled her eyes. 

  
Rey smirked, and could almost feel Ben’s annoyance at being compared to Han. “I know. But what if--” 

“Rey. The dark side isn’t something one just falls into. He has so much to keep him in the light. If Luke and I can avoid it after all this time, I am confident he can too.” Leia looked so sure of herself and her son that Rey couldn’t help but marvel at her easy assuredness. 

“I just want to make sure he’s okay,” she said quietly, and stared out of the window at the stars instead of into Leia’s all-knowing face.

Leia patted Rey’s hair buns. “I used to wear it similarly, when I was your age. I used to be scared, too. But I learned that love is ultimately what saves us all. You need love to combat the darkness. Ben has so much love inside of him, as do you, as does everyone on this base full of people willing to fight for each other. Trust him, and our cause.”

Rey closed her eyes and tried to internalize Leia’s words, nodded quietly. 

“And Rey,” Leia said, “I want to send you to Coruscant to finish the mission with Ben.”

Rey’s eyes snapped open. “Are you sure? I want to help, and I want to protect Ben, but I don’t know if I’m the best at being undercover.”

“You’re clever and capable, and one of the only Jedi knights we have left. I think you’re uniquely qualified. Of course, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to,” Leia said gently, even though she could sense that Rey was dying to say yes.

“No, I’ll go. When do I leave?” Rey was bursting at the seams, out of her mind at the idea of seeing Ben again. She could feel the tips of her ears turn red, and she internally chastised herself for the warmth spreading through her.

Leia was clearly making an effort to stop herself from chuckling and Rey blushed even harder. “Thank you. You’ll leave tomorrow. We’ve already made preparations. I’ll brief the others. Don’t bring anything; any clothes you bring will make you stick out like a sore thumb. Bring only your lightsaber, and conceal it as well as you can. I’ll give you your comm link and beacon before you leave.”  
Rey nodded, more excited to see Ben than worried about the dangerous gang she was about to visit. _What is wrong with me,_ she thought. 

“And Rey-- you’ll need a code name.”  
“Kira,” she said automatically. “I saw it on the side of a ship on Jakku once. It's pretty. Kira Tano?”

Leia gave some dark little smirk that Rey didn’t understand, but decided to let it slide. “Okay, Kira Tano it is.” She stepped closer and pulled Rey into a hug. “I’ll see both of you back here in one piece in two weeks. Be careful and trust your feelings, or whatever my brother would say.” 

“Thank you, General. I won’t let you down.” Rey squeezed the older woman and tried to draw on her strength. Peace, not emotion.

“You won’t. That I am sure of. Now get some sleep.”

\----------

As she waited for her ship in the pink morning light, Rey adjusted her bag. It felt too empty, filled with only her saber and enough credits for food and some new clothes. She was nervous, practically vibrating at the idea of visiting a new planet and finally  _ finally  _ seeing Ben again. 

“Rey!” Poe called to her and hustled over to where she was standing in the calm grey ship bay. “Your comm link from the General, and your beacon.”

She thanked him and fastened the small green beacon to her wrist, looking like nothing more than a slightly unfashionable bracelet. “I’m going to miss you, Poe.”

  
He snorted. “It’s just two weeks. You’re going to be great. Make sure Solo hasn’t gotten himself into too much trouble.”

  
Rey rolled her eyes affectionately. “I’m sure he’s handling himself. I’m just sorry I won’t be here to watch you flirt with Finn.”

  
“Hey!” Poe nudged her. “You’re one to talk.”

  
“What?” Rey was genuinely confused, and squinted at his grinning face in the weak light.

“What do you mean, what? You’ve been moony eyed ever since Solo left,” Poe said, still smiling.

“I haven’t-- no. We train together-- he’s-- we’re just partners,” Rey sputtered, utterly taken aback. Moony eyed? Her? She missed him, wasn’t it normal to miss your closest friend? Your training partner? Your--

Poe’s face turned gentle. “Sorry, sorry. I won’t overstep. I know you miss him.”

  
Rey sighed and twisted the beacon on her wrist. “I miss him. I don’t-- know what else there is.”

  
“That’s okay. You don’t have to know,” Poe said, “or maybe you do? Aren’t Jedi supposed to search their feelings or whatever?”

When Rey rolled her eyes again Poe laughed. “Okay, I’ll  _ really  _ back off now. Are you ready to go?” 

She nodded and patted her bag. “Fly to Endor, take the shuttle to Coruscant, ditch the clothes, buy some gang appropriate gear, meet Ben. He’s supposed to be waiting at the Scarlet Spade,” she and Poe smirked simultaneously at the name, “I’ll find him, he’ll give me the information, and we’ll contact you.”

  
Poe nodded, satisfied. “Be careful, Jedi. Coruscant gangs are no joke.”

Rey promised, and as she and Poe hugged, the Organa-Solos and Finn walked into the hangar. 

“Rey! Or  _ Kira,  _ whatever I’m supposed to call you now,” Finn screeched, hugging her tightly. “I can’t believe you’re doing this, you idiot.”

Han mumbled something to Leia at the word  _ Kira,  _ and his wife giggled quietly while Han rolled his eyes.

She hugged him back and relished his warmth, his blunt and overwhelming care for her. “I’m careful, Finn. I’ll be back for you soon.”

After a moment Poe disentangled Finn from Rey, who let go with a huff. Leia took her hand and smiled. “I’m proud of you,” she said.

Rey’s chest felt like it might burst. Han and Leia’s warmth and welcome was so overwhelming, and she felt a pang at leaving them.

“Now bring our boy home. And yourself, too,” Han said in his usual gruff manner. 

Rey’s ship landed in the hangar, and the group moved toward it, ready to see Rey off. Before she climbed into the passenger seat of the Resistance ship, she squeezed Leia’s hand one more time.

“May the Force be with you, Rey,” Leia said in her soft voice. 

She climbed into the ship and they flew into the stars.

\-----------

Rey didn’t like Coruscant. It was beautiful, of course; buildings stretching into the sky and glittery glass for miles and miles. But she didn’t like how she couldn’t see any trees, how the buildings sprung up like robotic vegetation. It was like a desert with personality.

She ducked into the first women’s clothing store she saw, aghast at the price tags that hung off everything.  _ It’s not for me, it’s for Kira, not me, Kira,  _ she chanted to herself silently, as she plucked through clothes in every color of the rainbow. 

The Twi’lek owner ran over and cooed at her about new styles and fabrics, the difference between last season’s starry silver and this season’s gunmetal grey. Rey tried to smile through all of it, let the friendly woman guide her through racks until she found herself emerging from the dressing room in some black leather thing.

“You look absolutely lovely, dear little thing!” The Twi’lek squealed, as Rey fiddled with the zip up leather top and tight black pants. It wasn’t awful, she decided, close enough to her regular clothes to be comfortable but definitely enough to fit in with a gang. She hoped. In front of the mirror, she rearranged her hair into a short braid, getting rid of the last traces of Rey the Jedi, trying to settle into Kira the bounty hunter. 

“I’ll take these,” Rey said, and handed the woman more credits than the clothing cost. 

The Twi’lek thanked her and Rey walked out into the dizzying streets, disoriented and terrified at the sheer number of speeders above her. She hailed one of the cabs and told the driver to take her to the Scarlet Spade, wherever that was.

The driver looked at her with a mixture of fear and suspicion in his eyes. “What’s a pretty girl like you want with a place like that?”

The skin on her neck prickled and it was all she could do to keep her saber in her bag. “You will take me there and not ask any questions.”

“I will take you there and not ask any questions.” He blinked and flew on.

In the speeder Rey thought about Ben. How different would he be, as Kylo Ren? Would he be happy to see her? Would he be so entrenched in his new role that he had forgotten her? Her hands went cold at the thought. Surely he couldn’t.  _ I’ll cross a thousand galaxies before I lose you, scavenger. _

Before she could collect herself they pulled up to a bar in a strange part of town, crawling with shadowy figures and darkened storefronts. She dropped credits into the driver’s hand and he sped away nervously, leaving her alone on the street. The Scarlet Spade loomed grey and menacing in front of her. Ben was inside. She’d see Ben.

With that thought she pushed open the door to the sound of throbbing music and so many bodies clad in dark colors, black and grey and red, masculine grumbles and the clink of money. The air was smokey and she could see people doing death sticks, falling over each other while men in dark glasses stood at each corner. She hated it immediately. But Ben was here.

She pushed through the crowd, glaring at the people who tried to get close to her. She felt sick from the smoke, dizzy already in the packed room. Men, human and Twi’Lek and Mandalorian alike, clung onto bits of her clothing as she passed through the room. She felt stifled, their desperation and arrogance dripping off of them like rainwater, their dirty feelings so heavy she couldn’t carry them. Every moment she grew more frustrated with the club, with Coruscant, with the Resistance itself for sending her here. The anger she had worked so hard to push down was welling up inside her, the thoughts and feelings of the gangsters around her clouding her mind.

Just when she thought she might snap a man in a garish red suit turned at just the wrong time as she passed by, dumping his drink on her bare arm. She hissed and grabbed his wrist, already fed up with Coruscant, with the watering hole of this stupid gang. The man in the red suit started to chatter loudly at her while she decided what to do with him. How Ben possibly stood this every day for two months she couldn’t  _ fathom- _

A large hand went around her waist and pulled her away from the red suit. “Sorry about that. She’s with me.”

She would’ve bucked off the owner of the hand, but she looked down and saw a little gold ring with a little green stone, and at his touch emotions and thoughts and warmth and the lifeblood of the Force itself flooded into her and she knew it was him.

He spun her around and she was face to face with his broad chest, black shirt and black jacket, almost like Han’s. He smelled like himself, but smokier, sweaty. “B-Kylo!” she whispered, and collapsed into him, suddenly jelly, her anger disappearing into the air. 

His arms were so tight around her she almost couldn’t breathe.  _ Kira,  _ she pressed to his mind, desperate and clinging to him, taking in how close he was, the way their emotions melded together once more. Ben’s face was buried in her hair, and she heard all his thoughts, how happy he was to see her. But under his excitement he felt different, darker, and Rey’s neck prickled. 

He let go of her reluctantly and his hand slid to her waist, giving her goosebumps, appraising her. “Kira,” he said hesitantly, tasting the word, “you look— new clothes.” Ben looked at her differently, almost hungrily, running his eyes over her body. His face was the same, pale and freckled and beautiful, plush mouth and prominent nose, but there cutting through the skin above and below his right eye was a new scar. She traced it gently with one finger. 

She grimaced. “Kylo, I—“

“Not here,” he whispered. “Later.”

He tightened his arm around her waist and led her into the club, their bond active and running hot through her veins. The crowd seemed to melt away and all she could think of was his hand on her and him, so close.

He brought her to a table where five large men in black sat around drinking and talking in harsh tones.

“Boys, Loro,” Ben said, in a voice not new but not entirely familiar either, “this is… Kira. She’s in town for a while and came to visit.”

The largest of the men looked Rey up and down and let out a low whistle imbued with hookah smoke. “What’s your game, pretty girl?”

“Bounties,” Rey said through gritted teeth, remembering her cover story. “I’m on vacation now, though. Kylo’s an old friend. Thought I’d stop by.” 

  
“Lucky boy,” Loro nodded at Ben, whose vague annoyance shot through Rey’s own mind. “Sit down, Ren. Have your lady friend join us.”

There were no chairs left at the table once Ben sat down, and Rey stood there awkwardly for a moment. Ben grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap, his heart fluttering against her back. This they had never done before, and Rey’s breathing came quicker as he casually brought his hand to her thigh to steady her. He didn’t move it. She didn’t want him to. 

“Bounties, you said, mm?” Loro said, sucking on the hose, smoke clouding his face. Rey couldn’t get a good look at him through the smoke, couldn’t place him, couldn’t read too far into his thoughts without tipping him off. She felt powerless. 

“Yep. Decent pay. Flexible hours,” Rey spat. Ben squeezed her thigh, causing her to shiver.  _ Be nice _ , he pressed to her mind. All the thoughts had flown out of her head at his touch anyway. 

To Ben’s palpable relief the man laughed. “I like this one, Ren. Might just have to borrow her.”

“I don’t share,” Ben growled, his voice deeper than on Takodana. It wasn’t like the man she knew, but she found she didn’t mind. 

“Down, boy.” Loro looked amused. “I won’t touch your princess. Do you mind if we talk a little business, sweetheart?” 

Rey swallowed her revulsion and smiled sweetly. “Of course not, sir. Pretend I’m not even here.”

He blew her a little kiss and turned to his men, talking spice deals and bribes. Rey tried to hide her disgust, tried to forget how the drugs they discussed hollowed out the people she lived among on Jakku. Ben was involved, too involved for her liking, in the dirty business of spice and corruption. 

_ I’m sorry. I’ll take you away from this soon.  _

She trusted him, and leaned against him while he talked.  _ Peace, not emotion _ , she commanded herself, willing the dark to go away. 

Instead, she focused on Ben, the flutter of his heart against her back. His eyes were on the men, but one hand was still on her leg, his other loosely holding hers on the table.  _ Play acting for the gang members. Better for them to think I’m his girl _ , she thought, as warmth pooled inside her veins and his index finger drew circles on her thigh. 

It had been so long since she’d seen him, and in his presence every part of her was awake, like the Force had been dormant with them apart. He felt so warm and inviting, like they were never meant to be separate but instead halves of a whole. 

His hand left her thigh and he dragged one finger up until it rested on her hip, on the thin band of skin between her pants and her shirt. She shivered against him and heard his breathing sharpen ever so slightly. He traced his fingers over the skin there, back and forth, so she felt hypnotized by his closeness, his gentle touch. She couldn’t feel where her emotions ended and his began; excitement was pouring out of both of them, that unnamed feeling close on its heels. 

Ben sighed, quietly, and abruptly dug his fingers into her hip. “Loro. I’m going to get Kira here a drink,” he said. 

Loro grinned. “Whatever you say, Ren.”

Ben ignored him and pushed Rey off of him and onto her feet, grasping her waist and pulling her towards the back of the club. “I don’t want—“

”I know,” he whispered. “we need to catch up.”

  
  



End file.
